Haas ready for Warriors challenge in NRL preliminary finals
Whether it is Payne Haas or Addin Fonua-Blake who takes the first hit-up in Saturday night’s NRL qualifying final at Suncorp Stadium, the collision promises to set the tone for a fierce and fiery battle between the Brisbane Broncos and the New Zealand Warriors.
There will be no prisoners taken, with the victor progressing through to the NRL Grand Final and the loser left to lick their wounds.
Top NRL bookmakers have written off the chances of the Warriors (+290) and Melbourne (+395) to even make the grand final, with Penrith (-625) and Brisbane (-384.62) to play each other at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on October 1.
So much responsibility falls on the shoulders of Haas and Fonua-Blake to make sure they lay a strong platform for their packs to establish an edge in the middle of the park.
It’s essential they provide the go-forward for their classy halfbacks, Adam Reynolds (Broncos) and Shaun Johnson (Warriors), to give them the time and space to operate.
The 23-year-old Haas – a strong contender for the 2023 Dally M Player of the Year – averages 187 run metres a game along with 105 tackle breaks and 44 offloads.
Fonua-Blake, 27, has comparable stats, averaging 172 metres per game, 72 tackle breaks and 35 offloads.
“Addin has been one of the form props in the competition this year. I need to be up for the challenge on Saturday for sure,” admitted Haas before one of the most anticipated heavyweight clashes of the season.
Asked if the responsibility was on him to again “set the tone” from the opening tackle, Haas fired: “No doubt Addin will want to do the same thing to us, so we have to start well and match their early aggression.”
Haas acknowledged his chief rival on Saturday was close to the best attacking forward in the game.
“He’s got good footwork, he is fast and he is a very strong ball-carrier,” he said.
“I like watching him play and I’m really excited about the challenge.”
Brisbane centre Herbie Farnworth, however, responded by throwing his support behind Haas, dubbing him “the best forward in the NRL”.
“He turns up for us every week and gets the job done – his stats are just phenomenal,” said Farnworth.
Brisbane trained for 90 minutes at Red Hill on Monday, with halfback Reynolds showing no signs of the calf injury which has sidelined him for the past three weeks.
The Broncos skipper ran freely and kicked well during the session, which included some contact work watched by a few hundred fans.
